35 ancient storage formats: How many do you remember?

Every device needs some form of storage. But while most new storage is now sold state, that wasn’t always the case and, of course, the most iconic storage formats are physical media. And we’ll be showcasing some more memorable of them here – as well as some lost in history. 

One of the earliest formats of data storage was punched tape, which was first used in 1725 by Basile Bouchon to control looms at his textile factory in Lyon, France.

The earliest medium for recording and reproducing sound? Wax cylinders, were invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. The cylinders eventually became what we now know as records, which were originally played on a phonograph system before moving to the turntable.

Skip forward to the modern day, and we have multiple forms of analogue and digital storage, 35mm film to flash memory and solid-state storage as we mentioned.

While we’re focusing on a small selection of unsuccessful formats here, you can find a list of nearly 500 at Obsolete Media.

So join us on a journey looking back at all the formats we’ve lost. How many do you remember?

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